At First Blush

Chapter 25

The only way that his shower would get any better was if there was a short, gold-skinned baby Omega. Julian sighed, scrubbing the back of his head. He hadn't meant to tackle Ollie into his car that afternoon. It had just...happened.

Ever since his talk with Cherry, Julian had found himself doing a lot of thinking. Especially after that glorious weekend. He'd found himself biting his tongue against asking if Ollie could grab his stuff and just...come back. Hang out. While Julian graded and Ollie did his homework.

He groaned, thumping his head on the cold tile. Look at him. Center City's renowned Alpha slut being positively domestic over a pair of blue eyes and sweet pink lips. Julian smiled a little, opening his eyes as he looked down at the tub. Nearly every surface in the apartment (sorry Adam) was now marked with the Scent of Ollie, of the memory of how he exhaled when Julian found a good spot or the way his warm skin pressed close to Julian like he was the only one in the world.

Sighing, Julian shut off the shower and stepped out. He grabbed a towel, the one Ollie had used. He hadn't washed it just yet, and there it was, Ollie's rich, sweet Scent caught in the terrycloth. Julian had to force himself to not snort the towel as he grabbed his own. He couldn't make himself hang it back up, so he slung in around his neck.

He walked into his room, grabbed some sweats, before going to Adam's closet and pilfering a giant t-shirt. The towel stayed around his neck, warm and soft, like a tactile reminder of his little lover.

Julian walked to the kitchen, and dug around in the fridge. Nothing. Damn it. How did Adam expect him to feed himself? Grabbing his phone, he called his neglectful best friend.

"Adam, how dare you neglect me. Do you want me to starve?" He demanded dramatically as he flopped onto the couch.

"Yeah, I saw some pouch on your ass on Saturday, thought you might want to work it off."

Julian shot upright. "You fucking fucker! Take that back immediately!!"

Adam's deep laugh soothed him, but Julian still went into the bathroom to stare at his ass.

"You're impossible. And I'll be home in like an hour. Can you survive until then?"

"No, I'll waste away and you'll come back to a zombie." He pulled his sweats back up. "And my ass is gorgeous, thank you. You're just blind."

"Not, babe, just not interested," Adam teased, and Julian huffed.

"An hour you say? I guess I'll make it. It'll be a near thing, though."

"What a champ. Oh, grab my mail. I think I got a package. It's a new set of scrubs. I've been doing a workshop over at the ER and I've forgotten how disgustingly fluidy it is over there."

Julian grimaced. "Thank you for making sure that I won't be hungry for an hour. Package you say? Okay. I'll stop by the front office. Gonna see if I can register Ollie as a regular guest."

"Sounds serious."

Julian was quiet. He had never invited guys back to his place before. Had never wanted his space invaded by anyone other than Adam. It didn't matter how many times he told himself that it was temporary. That Ollie would learn and move on. Because Julian wasn't sure he would be able to do that now.

"I think it is," he said softly, and that confession filled the silence that followed until it was almost painful.

"I'm glad." Adam said simply, at long last. "You looked so happy Saturday. Like the boy had filled you with sunlight."

Julian cleared his throat, getting up to grab his keys. "Shut up, Mr. M.D. Prose is my job. Getting the mail now. See you later."

"Bye!"